Tree grown fruit, such as avocadoes, citrus, apples and the like must often be picked from elevated places that are reachable only with the use of a ladder and a picking device. Picking poles, having a cutter or puller at one end are in common use, the fruit either falling directly to the ground or being collected in a bag attached to the pole under the cutter. Fruit falling to the ground may be bruised or otherwise damaged, which reduces the value of the harvest. By collecting the fruit in a bag, the bruising problem is to some extent alleviated, but the collection of fruit in a bag at the upper end of the picking pole presents other problems. The bag fills rather quickly and it must be dumped at relatively frequent intervals into a container on the ground, or into one supported on the back of the worker. To dump into a ground container, the bag must be lowered and inverted, and usually the worker must descend from a ladder to empty the bag in this manner.
The more common method is for the worker to empty the fruit into a container draped over his shoulder. This requires him to lower the pole and manipulate the bag to disgorge the fruit, which is time consuming and forces the worker to assume an ever increasing weight burden that tires him and decreases his efficiency. It becomes quite difficult to maneuver the pole while bearing the weight of all of the collected fruit, particularly when collected in a bag under the cutter. This creates a large inertial force on the pole that the worker must contend with and maneuvering between branches in opposition to this force can be quite burdensome. Furthermore, the bag itself is an impediment to maneuvering since it is not easily passed through the tree limbs, while the bag also interferes with the worker's visibility, making it difficult for him to properly place the cutter.
Some of the devices in use incorporate a sleeve or chute that is employed to transport the picked fruit to a ground collector. The fruit must fall a substantial distance in the chute for collection at the lower end thereof and if the fruit drops too rapidly it is subject to bruising. Accordingly, some of the devices have been equipped with internally arranged baffles to slow the fruit. However, since they are not usually adjustable, different chutes or baffle arrangements for different sizes of fruit must be utilized. Furthermore, leaves and twigs are often cut along wth the fruit and accumulate in the baffles, causing obstruction of the chute which is tedious to clear.